So Thank You Music was the “Hit” of the Happy Hour with its amazing nose of fresh ginger and lemongrass, as well as its wonderful taste which matched the nose. A close second was Last Snow, which is an interesting name as Boca Raton never even gets a 1st snow… actually it’s a celebration ale for those in South Florida to toast with as the “Last Snow(bird)” leaves the region.

After the happy hour we took a short walk to Bernini, a fabulous Italian Restaurant in the heart of Ybor City for our first beer paired dinner.

Kellerweis – Hefeweizen – 4.80% abv. In my opinion this is one of the better examples of a true German Hefeweizen made in America.

For the 2nd Course we had a choice between the Classic Caesar Salad (I had mine with extra anchovies) or the House Mista Salad paired with:

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Pale Ale – American Pale Ale – 5.6% abv. This is Sierra Nevada’s “Flagship” beer and the one beer you can count on finding in most pubs or restaurants which haven’t figured out the craft beer movement yet.

For our Main Course our choices were either Angel Hair pasta tossed with Grilled Chicken Breast; Shrimp Orecchiette; Margherita Pizza or the New Yorker Pizza with roasted peppers, onions, mushrooms, pepperoni, Italian sausage & mozzarella. (the pizzas as well as the meal servings were HUGE!) These were paired with:

Tampa Bay Brewing Company was founded in 1996 and is a family business, with mother and son serving as general manager and brewmaster respectively. Their on-site brewery is equipped to produce up to twelve tap beers and several cask-conditioned ales on a 10bbl step-infusion brewing system. As a matter of fact, 12 of their 16 serving tanks used to hold the beer at the famous Bass Ale Brewery in England.

Tampa Bay Brewing Co’s Tanks

Here we tried the Wild Warthog Weizen – 5.2% abv; Jack the Quaffer London Porter – 5.7%; Iron Rat Stout – 8.0% abv and the MooseKiller Barleywine- 10.0% abv as well as a taste of their fabulous Root Beer, which is made on site.

Tampa Bay Brewing Co

After we left Tampa Bay Brewing Co, our plan was to do some beer hunting at New World Brewing Co. At New World Brewing you will find the best selection of craft beer in Ybor City with 26 taps and at least 100 bottled beers. You can also enjoy entertainment in their outside courtyard. However tonight the courtyard was packed, so instead we opted to return to the hotel and do some beer tasting in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Back at the hotel, in additional to revisiting some of our “Happy Hour Beers”, we shared:

On Saturday morning our 1st stop was Tarpon Springs. Tarpon Springs is known as the Sponge Capital of the World, so we visited the Famous Spongeorama to see the Sponge Diving Museum and stroll along the waterfront and a few specialty shops.

Hellas

Tarpon Springs is also Florida’s own Greek village, so we of course had to sample some mouthwatering pastries at the very authentic Greek restaurant, Hellas. This was a “sweet” way to start the morning!

While Bob explained to us his brewing process, including his use of open fermentation, he also showed off his new tanks and told us that he has just expanded to offering his 3 brews- Saison Athene – Saison – 7.5% abv, Lectio Divina – Belgium Strong Pale Ale – 8.0% abv & Pays du Soleil – Dubbel – 8.0% abv- in kegs.

Saint Somewhere

After seeing the size of this small brewery everyone was extremely impressed when Bob told us that his beers can be found in 35 states! It is truly mind boggling that that much beer can be produced here. Bob also said that he will be brewing the next collaboration beer he has planned with Cigar City called Déjà Vu, in this location. He told us that it will be a completely different style then Vuja Dé, which was made at Cigar City.

Checking the smell of Lectio Divina

Did you know that 11:00 am is the time of day your taste buds are supposed to be most in tune? Well fortunate for us our beer tour happened to be at Saint Somewhere right about then, and we were invited to help ourselves to a taste of Lectio Divina out of the keg…and as if that wasn’t a beautiful thing in itself, Bob also shared with us 3 additional very special brews!

The Younger Oak Aged Blend

The 1st special brew was an extremely young oak barrel aged blend of his beers. Bob warned us that it was “young & hot” and really needed to age quite a bit longer before consuming. The nose of this beer was a mixture between rocket fuel and nail polish remover, however when it came to the taste, it was like drinking a fine port wine with no hint of the fuel or remover.

The 2 oak barrels used in aging the special brews

Enjoying the special brew

His 2nd special brew was a mature 2-3 year old oak barrel aged blend. This beer was sublime, the nose was mildly tart/sour with hints of oak, caramel and vanilla and the taste was both tart yet mildly sweet of fruit- with notes of the oak and a smooth as silk mouth feel. I could drink this all day. Ruth says just thinking about it makes her mouth water!

Getting a whiff of the Saison Athene with Brettanomyces “C”

Saison Athene with Brettanomyces “C” strain

The 3rd special brew was a taste of a beer which he says never made it to the market. It was his Saison Athene with Brettanomyces “C” strain. The “C” strain added more tartness and citrus in the nose and taste than you would find in the “regular” Saison Athene.

After tasting these 3 beers, it made me feel extremely blessed that we have such a great Belgium style artisanal brewer here in Florida.

Great sign on Bob’s Desk

Dunedin Brewery

So we left Tarpon Springs to head over to Florida’s Scottish heritage town, Dunedin. Here we visited Dunedin Brewery for a brewery tour, beer tasting and a great lunch! Plus we will have Bob from Saint Somewhere join us too!

Dunedin Taps

Dunedin Brewery is the oldest microbrewery in Florida. They always have 8 of their beers available year round on tap plus a few extra seasonal beers as well as guest taps.

Dunedin Celtic Gold Ale

We all stated off with their Celtic Gold Ale – Kölsch – 5.2% abv to enjoy while we toured around their brewing facilities

Dunedin Brewery Tour

Sharing a Dropkick Red Ale with Bob

We had all worked up a mighty thirst during our tour, so we were happy to try the samples of their Dropkick Red Ale – Amber Ale &

I chose to have their famous Pacific Coast Fish Taco, and since I heard they still had some of their delicious Christmas Farm Ale – Spiced Beer – 5.2% abv available, I paired that with my fish taco. Boy, this was one great lunch stop!

Having fortified ourselves, we will set off to Cigar City Brewery. On our way over to Cigar City we passed the time playing a few rounds of Beer Cap Bingo for some beery cool (of course) prizes.

Cigar City Brewing

Cigar City Brewery was founded by beer columnist and Tampa native Joey Redner in the summer of 2007. Since its inception CCB has been guided by Joey’s passion for both great beer and the city of his birth. With the creative input and expertise of Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup award winning brewer Wayne Wambles, Cigar City Brewing endeavors to make world class ales and lagers which celebrate the rich heritage and traditions that make Tampa one of the world’s most unique cities.

During our tour of Cigar City’s facilities what struck me the most was how much they have expanded since we were here last year. During our walk around the brewery we even caught a glimpse of a group of B.J.C.P. judges occupying the back end of the brewery where they were hard at work judging something I’m sure we will quaff in the future!

What on Tap at Cigar City Brewing

Once we made our way to the tasting room we had some samples of:

Getting a taste of Vuja Dé

Vuja Dé – American Wild Ale – 10.0% abv

Cubano Espresso – American Brown Ale – 5.5% abv

Jose Marti – American Porter – 8.0% abv

Humidor Jai Alai IPA – IPA – 7.5% abv

Cigar City Tasting Room

After having our fill at Cigar City we made our way back to the hotel to get ready for our big night out at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar. (or so they keep calling it…I wonder how long and how many beer dinners it will take to convince them to add Beer to the name?)

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar

Stylish, contemporary dining is the hallmark of Fleming’s. The menu features the finest in prime beef, augmented by a tempting variety of chops, seafood, chicken, generous salads, inventive side orders and indulgent desserts.

Fleming’s

We had a 4 course beer paired gourmet dinner created especially for our Beer Safari by the chef at Fleming’s.

Between Courses we had a brief overview of the beer we were drinking and the chef explained how he paired the meal with the beer. As you can see, we decided to try the same beer for the first pairing as the previous night, in order to do a comparison of appetizer/beer pairing for this beer, just to try something a little different. This Kellerweis is what I consider the perfect example of this style.

After Dinner we returned to the hotel for another round of beer tasting, but the 1st order of business was to settle our dispute as to which cartoon dog, Muttley or Snuffles, was the one which would jump up and then float down in air on his back like a feather after receiving a treat. To our surprise it was both!

On Sunday morning after a leisurely breakfast we enjoyed a perfect day for our guided historical walking tour of Ybor City (the original “Cigar City”).

A little piece of Cuban Soil found in Ybor City during our walking Tour

The old Florida Brewing Company Building

Our guide informed us that Ybor City is also the home of the 1st brewery in Florida, the Florida Brewing Company (after prohibition it was re-named Tampa Florida Brewery, Inc). In 1896 the construction of the Florida Brewing Company started; when it was finished, it was the tallest building in Tampa at six stories. They used the water from a natural spring which ran under the building to make their La Tropical Beer. The Florida Brewing Company exported more beer to Cuba than any other brewery in the USA. Unfortunately this Brewery closed in 1961.

Summary of the Oct 2010 Bon Beer Voyage Belgium Beercation

Day 3 Monday October 25th(Sailing from Bruges to Ghent)

Our Barge, The Iris

This morning we had the pleasure of a relaxed breakfast while being able to enjoy the scenery as the barge sailed slowly from Bruges to Ghent through the canal. We played a few rounds Beer Cap Bingo for some cool prizes.

View during the Morning Sail to Ghent

Rainbow seen during the Morning Sail to Ghent

After another gourmet lunch on the barge we met up with a much smaller canal boat for an informative tour of the historic city of Ghent from the water.

View of the Ghent waterway from the canal boat

View of the Ghent waterway from the canal boat

After the canal boat tour we all decided to fortify ourselves with a beer before we headed over to see the “torture” devices at the Gravensteen Castle (now a torture museum).

Café ‘t Galgenhuis

We headed to the smallest bar in Ghent, Café ‘t Galgenhuis, which is an old “hangman’s” or gallows house turned into a bar.

What a huge fluffy head on this Buffalo Belgian Bitter

Gouden Carolus Noël

Rochefort 10

Rochefort 10, a Quadrupel with an abv of 11.30% brewed at the Brasserie de Rochefort and the House Beer Mammelokker, a 6.0% Bruin.﻿

inside ‘t Waterhuis aan de Bierkant

After our visit to the Waterhuis we walked next door to sample some of the 200 types of jenever at ’t Dreupelkot.

't Dreupelkot ad and Pol behind the bar

Pol at ‘t Dreupelkot pouring some jenever

At ‘t Dreupelkot we were greeted by Pol, a Santa Claus looking character. We tried the vanilla, the chocolate, the banana and various mixtures of these before we convinced the new jenever junkies in our group to leave the bar!

After our jenever experience, we took a short walk to De Dulle Griet.

Dulle Griet "Mad Meg" the Red Cannon in Ghent

After we all saw the cannon we went to the “other” Dulle Griet.

De Dulle Griet

Dulle Griet has over 250 different bottle beers on their menu. Their specialty is their famous “The Max”, which is Kwak from Brouwerij Bosteels poured into a Kwak Yard Glass. As you may know, these glasses are not cheap, so in order to deter sticky fingered visitors from making them into souvenirs, patrons ordering “The Max” must take off one of their shoes as collateral. The shoes is then put into a basket and hoisted to the ceiling by a pulley system. When the glass is returned, so is the shoe! This bar can get crowded, so as a courtesy to your fellow imbibers, if you plan to have a Kwak, wear your odor eaters, please!

This is the 2nd in the series of our review of our recent trip to Belgium. We visited Bruges, Gent, Mechelen, Antwerp & Brussels over 7 days, meeting with vendors for our beer tour company BonBeerVoyage.com. During our whirlwind week, we were able to visit over 50 beer related places and tried over 50 beers.

This entry focuses on our 2nd day of the trip, while we were in Bruges. On this day we visited 1 bottle shop, 5 bars, 1 brewery & finished the night off dining in an award winning restaurant known for their cuisine a la bière.

The Bottle Shop has a very large selection of beers to choose from and a very good assortment of glassware. Above I have shown only 3 of the many walls of beer. If you do buy here, they do a great job of packing up your beer/glassware safely, which is key if you plan on packing it in your checked in luggage.

On Breidelstraat, the street connecting the Burg & the Grote Market, there is a very small alley way (De Garre) which leads to 2 bars. You can very easily walk right by if you’re not paying attention. You’ll spot what looks like a doorway and has the word Cookie’s written on the glass pane above the alley entrance.

Alley to de Garre

Chalkboard for Garre and Cookies

In the very back of this alleyway is Cookie’s(2 De Garre). If you are in the mood for tapas, hot or cold, stop in for a bite and maybe even a beer. The beer menu is very limited, they had 4 beers on tap (Jupiler, Keizer Karel Blond, Brugse Zot Blond & Brugse Zot Bruin & 8 bottle beers, nothing which you can’t find back in the USA, Duvel, Tripel Karmeliet, Orval, Chimay blue, Westmalle dubbel & tripel and Rochefort 10, all bottles were 3.50 euro except for Rochefort which was 4.80 & the Mystic Kriek at 2.30.

Character in Staminee De Garre

The gem in this alley is Staminee De Garre (1 De Garre).It is a little bar, with a very nice atmosphere and 135 bottled beers. If you’re lucky, you might run into the guy in the top hat (above), who was whistling songs. If it is crowded downstairs, head up the narrow staircase to a larger room upstairs. If you’re only going to have 1 beer, the beer to try here is the House Tripel, which is brewed byBrouwerij Van Steenberge. It is a Tripel and 8% abv and you will not be disappointed! They serve your beer with a small plate of cheese.

@ The Pub

@ The Pub menu

The closest bar to the Belfry (Belfort) Tower is @ The Pub (4 Hallenstraat). They have a nice selection of about 100 beers. See menu above. In @ the Pub you have 2 seating areas inside- as you enter to the left is the bar area and to the right is a lounge area. If the weather is nice you can sit outside and enjoy your beer as well.

Eetcafe Leopold

Leopold beer / liquor menu

Eetcafe Leopold (26 ‘t Zand) is located across from the tourist information office. Besides having 8 different types of Croque’s, which are very tasty, they have a fairly nice beer list of about 40 bottles.

Brouwerij De Halve Mann / Brouwerij Straffe Hendrik (26 Walplein).This is the only brewery within Bruges. It is less than a half mile walk from the train station. They give a guided tour of the brewery and museum which last about 45 minutes and cost 5.50 euros. It is a very entertaining tour and in the museum you will see among other things a huge collection of old metal beer cans and vintage beer glasses. The tour is well worth the price of admission, plus it includes a tasting of Bruges Zot.

Straffe Hendrik Tripel

Brugse Zot, was poured from the tap. It is a Belgium Pale Ale and is 6.0%abv.

Straffe Hendrik Brugs Tripel Bier, is a 9% abv Tripel.

't Brugs Beertje

't Brugs Beertje

‘t Brugs Beertje(5 Kemelstraat) is just 250 yards from the Grote Market off Steenstraat. It is my favorite bar in Bruges. Not only do they have a fantastic beer menu, but the service is great and it is a wonderful place to meet and mingle with locals and other beer enthusiasts. We only had time to stop by and say hello to Daisy, the owner and have 1 beer, which was Gouden Carolus Noël. This is a Belgium Strong Dark Ale of 10.5% abv and is brewed by Brouwerij Het Anker

Den Dyver Gold Award 2009

For dinner we went to Den Dyver (5 Dijver) which is known for its cuisine a la bière. They received the 2009 Gold Medal Beer & Gastronomy Award from Bierpassie, Ambiance Magazine & Maxwell Williams. At Den Dyver you have the choice of ordering a la carte or choosing from their 3, 4 or 5 course menus. The 3, 4 or 5 course meals can be paired with either beer or wine and are actually cooked in the paired beer. My wife had the 3 course meal & beer pairing & I went for the 4 course.

hopped up champagne & house pale ale

We started off with an aperitif, mine was the House Pale Ale, unknown abv & brewer. Ruth had the house aperitif, which was a hopped up champagne.

Blanche de Hainaut Biologique

Struise Rosse

For appetizers, I had the swordfish steak with an anchovy crust which was paired with Blanche de Hainaut Biologique, a Witbier with a5.5% abv. This was brewed by Brasserie Dupont sprl. Ruth had the duck confit which was paired with Struise Rosse, vintage 2007, 6.0% abv. This is a Belgian Pale Ale brewed by De Struise Brouwers. Both were perfect pairings.

Westmalle toast

For the main course we both had the duck paired with the Westmalle Tripel, which is a Tripel with a 9.5% abv. This is brewed by Adbij der Trappsten van Westmalle (Brouwerij Westmalle). The Westmalle was a good match for the duck.

Het Kapittel Pater & Bink Winterkoninkske

For dessert, my wife had an assortment of cheese which was paired with Het Kapittel Pater brewed by Brouwerij Van Eccke, it is a Belgian Dark Ale,6.00 % abv. As usual, the beer was a great pairing for the cheese-and Ruth wondered “Why did we ever waste time pairing wine with cheese in the past?”

I had a pear strudel with Fourme d’ ambert, a French cheese which was paired with Bink Winterkoninkske, Belgium Dark Strong Ale with an 8.3%abv made by Brouwerij Kerkomj. This was an incredible combination, probably the highlight of the evening.

To end the evening of beer and food bliss I had a fig cake with almond cream.

The service was excellent. The son of the owner is the beer/wine sommelier, and presented each beverage with an explanation and a proper pour. There were separate waiters and bus people, so we were very well taken care of. The atmosphere is upscale yet relaxed. We are looking forward to returning with our tour group in October.

Coming up next in this series we will finish our time in Bruges by visits to 3 more bottle shops, 3 more beer bars, a gourmet chocolate shop and a cigar shop which serves beer in its backroom bar. Then we’ll head off to Gent.

Note: This is another very smooth and blended beer which is quite drinkable at 10%ABV. While on our Belgium Barge Beercation in October 2010 we will be staying in Mechelen for 2 nights and will surely be visiting this brewery and their brasserie. www.bonbeervoyage.com

From their website:“The beer Gouden Carolus of brewery in Mechelen Het Anker grew into an international laurelled beer. The brewery thanks that success in large degree to its authenticity. The old recipes still form the basis of the brewing process, chemicals are never used and a variety of hops and herbs such as coriander, caraway and liquorice brings the beers on taste.

The brewery itself, which as one of the oldest in Belgium (1369), can count on a rich history, reminds of former times. The courtyard lies strewn with excellent cobblestones; on a tympan shines in grey stone the year 1625, and the three copper kettles in the brewing hall dates of just after the second world war.

The brewery, which as the years pass by had fallen into decline, got in the nineties a considerable overhaul. Charles Leclef, the fifth generation of the family which had bought the brewery in 1873, started with the restoration of the old buildings and modernised the refrigeration, fermentation and lagerings installations.”

“In 2002, after 38 years, a tradition of making a Gouden Carolus Christmas beer was restored. And the response was astonishing from the beginning of the release.

Gouden Carolus Christmas is a strong dark ruby-red beer with character and a alcohol percentage of 10,5% Vol. It is brewed at the end of August. Then it rests for several months to obtain a optimal balance in taste and flavours. Specific herbs are added in the different stages of the brewing process. Three different kinds of hops, and 6 different kind of herbs and spices make this Christmas beer a ‘special class’.

Gouden Carolus Christmas is a top world beer.

In 2004 Gouden Carolus Christmas won the Silver Award in the World Beer Cup, San Diego, USA in the “Dark Strong Ale” category. “

Technical sheet

Type of beer:

Special dark beer

Colour:

Dark ruby red

Alcohol:

10,5 % VOL

Kind of hops:

Only Belgian hops

Wort extract:

22 °Pl

Fermentation:

High fermentation
Refermentation in the bottle

Lagering:

2 weeks

Conditioning:

Bottle: 33 cl, 75 cl and 11/2l
Keg: 20 and 30 l

Tenability:

At least 3 years

This is the 19th of my daily Christmas beer, on my quest for a Christmas beer a day from Thanksgiving to Christmas. There are now only 10 more beers until Christmas!